"The Silent Land" [Giles Swayne]

"The Silent Land" [Giles Swayne]

First line of lyrics: Do not go gentle into that good night...

Swayne, Giles; music (English, born 1946)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

Thomas, Dylan; text (Welsh, 1914-1953)

1996 [composition and publication]

Novello & Co. Ltd.

genre: requiem|choral music

solo: soprano|alto|tenor|bass

chorus: SATB chorus

instrumentation: cello

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 5/4

origin: United Kingdom

male composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "Remember"|"Song" ("When I am dead, my dearest")

Work contains multiple Christina Rossetti texts

Work contains texts by multiple authors

Notes about the text: The words of "The silent land" are taken from the Latin Requiem Mass, the poems "Remember" and "Song (When I am dead)" by Christina Rossetti and Dylan Thomas' couplet "Do not go gentle into that good night... / Rage, rage against the dying of the light".

Composition history: "'The silent land' was commissioned by Phyllis Lee for Clare College, Cambridge, for performance by Clare College choir (considerable augmented) under its musical director, Tim Brown. [...] Phyllis had recently lost her second husband, Hardy Lee, and I decided to write a piece in his memory. For some time I had been thinking of writing a version of the requiem - a version which omitted the idea of punishment and reward, and concentrated on loss and the acceptance of loss. I had also been intrigued for years by the technical challenge of writing for a 40-part choir - I see Tallis' "Spem in alium" as a perpetual challenge, and have long planned to write a piece of similar forces. The idea of using the cello came out of the Requiem words: the cello is the dead person's soul; the semichorus is the bereaved family; the 32 other parts are the grieving community."

Tempo markings: "Slow" quarter note = 72

Performance instructions: "The eight choirs should be spaced out somewhat, to create separation; the ideal would be a wide semicircle. The semichorus should stand downstage of the main choirs; each soloist positioned in front of the choir of which he/she is a part; this should form a smaller semicircle within the larger one. The solo cello and the conductor should be placed at the center of the whole." There are also lengthy technical notes on properly performing the score in the preface.

Dedication: "To Phyllis Lee, in memory of Hardy"

Notes: "The silent land" is scored for solo cello and choir in 40 real parts. The voices are divided into eight five-part choirs (2 SSATB choirs, 2 SAATB choirs, 2 SATTB choirs and 2 SATBB choirs). Each of the choirs has an extra voice, creating an 8 part semichorus of 2 sopranos, 2 altos, 2 tenors, and 2 basses which should be given to solo voices.

Format 1: musical score

52 pages

Cataloguer: Emma-Catherine Wilson, University of Ottawa

This score is copyright protected. A score can be consulted here: "The Silent Land". Alexander Street, https://search-alexanderstreet-com./view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cscore%7C2194790#page/1/mode/1. Accessed 31 of May 2019. This source maybe restricted except to subscribing institutions or individuals.

Opus: 70

Record: CRM-remember-swayne

"Copyright 1996 Novello & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved"

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